Small microphone systems have a broad range of applications, including use in hearing aids, Bluetooth headsets, and mobile phones. Typical microphone systems include a microphone element, such as a microelectromechanical system microphone (also known as a “micromachined microphone,” “silicon microphone,” or “MEMS microphone”). The microphone may include on-board circuitry to process the microphone element's electrical output signals, or may be packaged with another circuit in the same package.
Many microphone packages have a base and a lid, and are configured to be mounted onto a larger substrate, such as a printed circuit board or other surface of a larger system. For example, a packaged microphone may be mounted to an interior surface of a host system, such as cellular phone. Placement of the microphone system/packaged microphone within the host system is important, however, to ensure that acoustic signals can reach their internal microphone element. If spaced too far from a host port that receives those signals (e.g., the mouthpiece of a mobile telephone), the microphone element may not adequately receive and convert the input acoustic signal.